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Overview

Details

Property

house

Sleeps

4

Bedrooms

2

Bathrooms

2

Minimum Stay

7 nights

Description

Oakland Ave - Harrison St House Rental Photos and Description

House, 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, (Sleeps 4)

This 1927 Arts & Crafts Mediterranean-style house is wonderful for relaxing and for entertaining, with its.large livingroom and separate dining room (expandable table to seat c. 10). The kitchen is good-sized and recently redone. A sunroom at the back is adjacent to a separate breakfast room with sliding glass door to cozy deck overlooking Asian-style landscaped, enclosed pocket garden. The second bedroom also works as a good-sized office with French doors opening onto a small balcony in front (this no doubt functioned as a sleeping porch 'back in the day').

The house is.nicely located: very close to Piedmont Avenue's restaurants and shops as well as the emerging "gourmet ghetto" in Oakland (either side of upper Broadway); just up from an expansive Whole Foods; just above Lake Merritt. The MacArthur BART station is not far away, and easy access to the 580 fwy puts San Francisco within easy reach and provides a really expeditious route to Berkeley as well as points South.

About The Owner

Academic (historian), long-time resident of the Bay Area who is only here part-time now. Third-generation Californian. Graduate of Mills College and UC Berkeley.

The Owner purchased this house in 2009

Why The Owner chose Oakland

This is an exquisite example of Arts and Crafts architecture, which is my very favorite style. Growing up in California, I had always wanted to live in such a house.

What makes this house unique

The house is ideally located to take advantage of restaurants, theatre, opera and shopping in San Francisco, as well as similar offerings in Oakland and Berkeley. (Berkeley is only about a 10-minute drive away; San Francisco about twice that long, in non-commute times.) Having Lake Merritt so close makes it easy to picnic, walk around the lake, etc.

Excellent!4.7/5 -

(15 traveler reviews)

Charming, near-perfect house for 4

My family and I had a lovely time staying in this charming house over the Thanksgiving holidays. The architecture, door frames and other 20s era elements are unique and give off good vibes. The interior furnishings are warm and personable; it is clear they have been chosen with care, from the opposing couches and large family table to the comfy master bed. We're sorry it was too rainy and cold to enjoy the small outdoor space in the back. Great kitchen and large oven made cooking enjoyable. Wonderful book collection - some quite dated but that added to the charm. Great neighborhood and perfect perch from which to explore Oakland.

Only a few, minor criticisms (NONE of these were deal breakers in anyway - we had a lovely stay. I only point them out in hopes of being helpful):

1. Very dark inside, even during the day (with exception of bedrooms - see point 2): The interior lights are dim at best, which made us struggle with navigating the hodgepodge of small steps, random corners and blind spots quite a struggle, especially since one member of our party has limited vision.

2. Early sunshine wakeup: Main bedroom and second bedroom/office windows lack curtains, so the sun shines (way too) bright in the morning. An inexpensive and helpful touch would be to add curtains to the windows (instead of the white translucent cloth currently in place). We jury-rigged some dark sheets in the office using existing hooks and were able to get by.

3. Second/bedroom office is cluttered with papers and packages - this is only an asthetic criticism and not a big deal, but could be nice to tidy up and remove/hide some of the papers, manilla envelopes, etc.

4. Murphy bed offers passable comfort for two medium-to-small sized individuals, but would start to get uncomfortable for a longer stay.

5. Landscaping has seen better days - some plants are overgrown, especially in the backyard, and the driveway was swamped with leaves (we imagine this was probably due to wintertime and it did not affect us in the least since we didn't use those spaces).

6. A bit musty in certain parts of the home (i.e. office, kitchen near cellar door, etc) - but this is too be expected in an older home.

Overall we had a great time.. can't underestimate the charm of this place. Owner was extremely kind and flexible - she was very responsive, answered all our questions and made are check in and out extremely easy. Would highly recommend to friends. Would not recommend for the visually impaired.

Submitted: Dec 7, 2016

Stayed: Nov 2016

Source: VRBO, from HomeAway

Owner's Response: Very unclear what "random corners and blind spots" would be. There is ONE set of 4 steps up to bedroom level with a permanent nightlight plugged in. This apparently died and has been replaced. We have curtained to take advantage of the wonderful quality of light coming through very large Arts & Crafts windows (see earlier review). All windows have privacy but we deliberately did not do black-out curtains so as not to cover up gorgeous woodwork and wonderful light. Those who really require black-out in the morning probably do not want to stay in this house.

Great place!

We stayed in this lovely home for two weeks. I was happy that I had my own parking space because without it, I would have been exhausted trying to find a place to park and walk up the hill to the house. The neighborhood was quiet and safe. It was my first experience with home away. I will not stay in a hotel for an extended vacation ever again after this experience. It really had all the comforts of home. It was less than ten minutes away from my daughter. I learned my way around quickly and everything that you need is very close by.

I would definitely recommend this home to others and would rent again in the future.

1927 Arts and Crafts Home, Oakland - our home away from home for a week!

Let me start by saying that the owner is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. We came to San Fran for my cousin's wedding as well as a vacation as it was our first time in the area, and definitely worthy of exploring. I was very leery about conducting a transaction with an individual, sight unseen, however this particular arrangement couldn't have been more perfect, and gone more smoothly. She communicates wonderfully, answers any/all questions you may have, and is beyond accomodating.

The house is very charming. You can tell that they have worked hard to maintain the character of the period in which it was built. With a little garden area in the back and asian fuit trees in the front, the ambiance extends beyond the interior. We had our windows open every day, as well as the back patio door. The breakfast nook and tv room was where we congregated most evenings. What a perfect little space. The breeze was divine, and the temps in June couldn't have been more perfect. The home does not have heat or air, but in this climate, I can't see that it would be horribly necessary.

The kitchen has been updated, and is very serviceable. She even has a vast array of spices on hand for you to use. I would recommend a larger stock pot, a toaster, and a coffee pot that fits the coffee maker a bit better, but other than that, just about anything you need is there.

The bedrooms are fine, and each have their own bathroom. The bedroom with the murphy bed has a balcony, which we loved. We left the doors to the balcony open every night and enjoyed the breeze and the sounds of the city. I would recommend upgrading the mattresses, however that is really just a personal preference. Some may think they are just perfect for their sleeping comfort.

The washer and dryer were wonderful to have as well.

Overall, I would highly recommend allowing yourself the pleasure of being a guest at this lovely, lovely home away from home.

Wonderful!

I chose this house because it was well located for my purposes. But what a delight! So beautifully decorated and maintained with a large kitchen and dining room. My favorite room was a cozy space between the kitchen and the patio and I actually got work done because it was so nice to be there. This was by far the nicest home I have stayed in with a home-stay organization.

Well situaded

What we liked was the full kitchen with a gas stove because we like to cook. We also appreciated coming back to park in a driveway. Roomy and spacey and lots of natural light. Enjoyed the intimacy of the patio. Arts and crafts décor.

Lovely

Beautifully appointed, excellent space convenient to lots of East Bay -close to highway entrance and exit. Would stay there again. Only deficiency, no windows have shades or curtains. Hard to sleep once sun rises. Otherwise, very suitable for a couple.